BEST OF THE BEST: Germain and McMillan named Best of Preps athletes of the year

Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Hines Ward, left, poses for a photo with Tianna Germain, the female athlete of the year, during the 2014 Best of Preps banquet at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa on Wednesday night.

Brittney Lohmiller / Savannah Morning News - Parents take photos of the 2014 Greater Savannah Baseball team with former Pittsburgh Steelers player Hines Ward during the 2014 Best of Preps banquet at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa on Wednesday night.

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Hines Ward sent a heart-felt message to the best high school athletes in the Savannah area Wednesday night at the Savannah Morning News’ fourth annual Best of Preps banquet at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa.

One of the athletes listening closely to the former Georgia and NFL star’s advice was South Effingham basketball player Tianna Germain, who was named the Best of Preps Female Athlete of the Year at the end of the event.

Liberty County’s Raekwon McMillan was named the Male Athlete of the Year, but the standout football player was unable to attend as he was taking finals at Ohio State University, where he enrolled early.

“My heart jumped when they called my name,” said Germain, who was named the Morning News’ Girls Basketball Player of the Year after leading the Mustangs to the first Final Four in school history. “It feels great. I feel like I did something right, and my parents did something right.”

Ward spoke for over 30 minutes — telling stories of his childhood in Georgia and inspiring the audience. The focus of his talk was for kids to establish goals, and to go after them with focus and determination while learning to deal with adversity.

Germain dealt with some adversity as a talented point guard with all the skills desired from big-time college programs. But standing just 5-foot-2, her lack of height scared away some college recruiters. Germain stayed on course and earned a Division I scholarship when she signed with Kennesaw State in March. The Region 3-AAAA Player of the Year averaged 17.8 points, 3.9 assists, 3.9 steals and three rebounds a game this season.

“It was very inspiring,” Germain said of Ward’s speech. “It taught me to keep my mindset right and to continue setting goals for myself.”

The male athlete of the year, McMillan, has set goals and achieved them throughout a high school football career that had every top program in the country clamoring for his services.

He won the Butkus Award as the top inside linebacker in the nation after recording 159 tackles, 35 tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks as a senior last fall. He helped lead the Panthers to their first playoff berth since 2009, and ultimately chose Ohio State in December at a commitment ceremony attended by national media.

McMillan, the Savannah Morning News defensive player of the year his junior and senior seasons, finished school at Liberty County in December and immediately enrolled at Ohio State, where he is doing well in his classes and working out with the Buckeyes. He will be back home this weekend for his high school graduation.

“I’m honored to have won this award and I want to thank God, because without him this wouldn’t have been possible,” McMillan said when reached in Columbus on Tuesday. “I’m happy to represent the Southeast Georgia area as a top athlete, and I have to give credit to my teammates for all the support. They made this possible.

“The thing I’ll remember most from my time at Liberty County is helping turn around a team that went 2-8 my freshman year into a team that made a playoff run,” McMillan said.

“I had some great coaches at Liberty County, including Ryan and Tony Glazer, Derek Sills and Kirk Warner, they helped me a lot with my recruiting. And they, along with my teammates, helped put the Liberty County football program where it’s supposed to be.”